


Little Brother

by SummerStormFlower



Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: Abandonment Issues, Blood and Injury, Brotherly Love, Cole gives the best piggyback rides, Comfort, Family Fluff, Gen, Humour, Jay talks a lot, Lloyd almost gets lost, Protective brothers, Sick Character, Takes place before Lloyd was aged up, Zane plays nurse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-15
Updated: 2020-01-15
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:29:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22261093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SummerStormFlower/pseuds/SummerStormFlower
Summary: Lloyd doesn’t understand why the ninja haven’t gotten tired of him yet. *takes place before Tomorrow’s Tea*.
Relationships: Cole & Lloyd Garmadon, Cole & Lloyd Garmadon & Kai & Jay Walker & Zane, Lloyd Garmadon & Jay Walker, Lloyd Garmadon & Kai, Lloyd Garmadon & Zane
Comments: 19
Kudos: 266





	Little Brother

Lloyd woke up that morning, feeling horrible. He couldn’t breathe through his nose, his head hurt, and his throat was sore. This meant only one thing. 

He was sick. 

Lloyd groaned, wincing at how gravelly his voice sounded. He felt completely miserable. He hated being sick. 

There was a knock on his door. 

“Lloyd, are you awake?” It was Zane. 

Lloyd curled up under his green blanket—he’d always loved green for some reason—and squeezed his eyes shut. Zane was kind. Lloyd liked Zane and he didn’t like to lie to him, but he really didn’t feel like getting up. 

Zane knocked again. 

Lloyd didn’t answer. 

After a moment, he heard Zane leave. Lloyd sighed and rolled over, getting comfortable again. He fell back asleep very quickly. 

Unfortunately he didn’t sleep for long, woken up by someone opening the door and entering his room. 

His room? No, no, he meant the room Uncle Wu was letting him stay in. This wasn’t his bedroom. This was just temporary, like everything else was. 

A hand touched his forehead. Lloyd blinked blearily. Zane was standing above him, eyebrows narrowed in something unfamiliar. 

It couldn’t be concern... could it? No, no way, that was impossible. It had to be something else. 

“What?” Lloyd whined babyishly. Any other day he would’ve swatted Zane’s hand away, but he was weak and Zane’s hand was nice and cool. 

“You have a fever,” Zane said, his face softening in a way Lloyd couldn’t understand. 

Then he turned and left. 

Lloyd thought that was the last of him. But five minutes later, Zane came back with a teaspoon and little bottle of Tylenol. 

Lloyd’s eyes went wide.

“No! I don’t want any medicine! It’s yucky!” he shouted, burying his head under his blanket. 

“But it will help you feel better—“

“I don’t care! It’s gross! I’m not taking it and you can’t make me!” Lloyd exclaimed from under his bedsheets. “Besides, what do you care?!”

Silence. Then after a moment, Lloyd heard Zane sigh and felt his mattress dip.

“I happen to care a great deal.”

Lloyd blinked. Slowly, he pulled his blanket down until half of his face was out. Zane was sitting on his bed beside him. 

“You do?” he asked, searching Zane’s blue eyes. All he found was genuine honesty.

That was weird. He wasn’t used to this. What was this anyways?

“I do,” Zane responded firmly.

Lloyd’s heart swelled. Nobody had ever told him they cared about him before. 

Maybe listening to Zane wouldn’t be such a bad idea. As long as it made Zane happy. 

“I guess one little teaspoon won’t kill me,” Lloyd muttered, sitting up. 

Zane smiled and took the cap off the bottle.

It actually wasn’t horrible. It tasted like cherries. Lloyd had to admit that when he laid down to sleep again and Zane smoothed his hair back, he felt much better.   
____________________________________

Pain seared through Lloyd’s side.

It wasn’t anyone’s fault. Nobody could’ve predicted the Serpentine attacking the arcade. Nobody could’ve predicted what the evil gleam in their eyes meant. Nobody could’ve predicted Lloyd getting hurt.

Lloyd certainly didn’t. 

With a cry of pain, Lloyd fell to the floor. The Hypnobrai above him cackled manically, throwing its bloody dagger up in victory. 

Lloyd paled. That was his blood. 

“Lloyd!” He heard Jay shout over the ringing in his ears. 

Lloyd wasn’t sure how he got there, but only when Jay had his arms tight around him, was Lloyd able to breathe again. It hurt. It hurt a lot. 

“It’s okay, I got you,” Jay told him, pressing his hand over Lloyd’s side. 

Lloyd made the mistake of looking down. All he saw was red. Fear spiked in his chest and the pain seemed to intensify tenfold. 

“Am I gonna die?”

“No, you’re not. You’re going to be okay,” Jay said without missing a beat. “Guys, hurry up!”

Lloyd looked around. The other ninja were still fighting, but they were fighting with even more vigour than before. Kai was running wild. The Serpentine looked to be on the brink of retreat. 

Lloyd felt his blood soak through his hoodie. He was starting to feel faint. 

“I’m scared,” he whimpered.

“It’s okay,” Jay said, holding him tighter, “I got you. Just look at me, okay? Keep your eyes on me.”

Lloyd nodded, training his eyes on Jay’s face. His expression was calm and steady. It was comforting. 

The pain in his side kept him awake. It didn’t take the ninja very long to chase the Serpentine away. The car ride back to Destiny’s Bounty felt like an eternity, and it hurt Lloyd every time Cole hit a bump. He kept his eyes on Jay’s face though. 

It was weird. Jay usually freaked out in situations like this. Yet he was as cool as a cucumber. He looked like nothing could scare him. 

It really helped. 

When they got to the Bounty, Zane got the medical equipment. 

“Do I need stitches?” Lloyd asked nervously. 

“Yes you do,” Zane replied gently. 

Lloyd gulped. “Will it hurt? Because I’m kinda in enough pain as it is.”

Zane hesitated.

“It’ll be fine,” Jay said, sitting down in front of Lloyd. “Just focus on me. Okay? How about I tell you how I got my eyebrow scar?”

Lloyd flinched when he felt Zane start to clean the wound, but he tried to focus all his attention on Jay. 

“You see, I was playing a game,” Jay began, “I was six or seven. And you know how I grew up in a junkyard, right?” 

At Lloyd’s shaky nod, Jay continued,

“Well, I decided to climb that mountain of old tires behind my parents’ trailer. I told myself if I could reach the top, I’d be king of the junkyard.”

“Little Jay, king of all garbage,” Cole said with a smirk. 

“Every kid’s dream,” teased Kai.

“Excuse me, are you telling the story?” Jay snapped. 

Cole just grinned. 

Kai raised his hands in surrender, a smirk on his face. “Go on, go on,” he said placatingly. 

A little smile tugged at the corners of Lloyd’s mouth. 

“Anyways,” Jay continued, “I made it to the top. And I felt great! I felt like I was on top of the world! I felt like the king—“

“Of garbage!” Cole exclaimed.

Kai burst out laughing.

“Shut up!” shouted Jay.

Lloyd giggled. He could see why they liked to pick on Jay the most; it was too easy.

“So, I was feeling pretty awesome,” Jay went on, shooting Cole and Kai a glare when they kept chuckling. The stopped, avoiding his gaze and whistling. Jay turned back to Lloyd. “But that awesome feeling was short-lived because I tripped and fell down. I cut my forehead on a rock and lost a part of my eyebrow. Definitely not one of my greatest moments.”

“No kidding,” Lloyd grinned. 

Jay blinked at him, and Cole and Kai started laughing again. Jay rolled his eyes and smiled. 

“Is it ever going to grow back?” Lloyd then asked, suddenly curious. 

“Probably not,” Jay said, “But it’s okay. Now that I’m a ninja, I can pass it off as a battle scar.”

“All done!” Zane proclaimed, gathering the medical equipment and cleaning it up. 

Lloyd blinked, shocked. He looked down at his side. Stitched and bandaged. He hadn’t felt a thing! 

“Guess my story must’ve helped,” Jay said with a smile. 

Lloyd looked at him. A swarm of foreign emotion welled up inside his chest. He wasn’t sure what it was, but it made him want to lunge forward and hug Jay. 

Something else inside him held him back though. 

Instead, he gave Jay what he hoped was a meaningful look and said, “Thanks, Jay.”

To his surprise, Jay pulled him into a hug—mindful of his stitches—and ruffled his hair. 

“Anytime, kid.”

Lloyd swallowed. He made to hug Jay back, but then stopped himself.

‘Don’t get attached,’ he told himself, ‘it’ll hurt less when they kick you out if you’re not attached.’  
______________________________________

Lloyd used to have real bad nightmares when he was five. He still got them sometimes, but it was nothing like before. To calm himself, he’d go outside and walk around a bit. The gardens, and crickets, and the bright starry sky always eased his mind. 

The city was different than the countryside. He couldn’t see the sky, and there were no gardens, and instead of crickets, there was the sound of cars zipping by. It wasn’t the same, but the cool night breeze and the city lights were nice. 

Lloyd sighed. His legs were sore and he was sleepy. Maybe he should go back now.

He turned around, crossed the street, and went down the same corner he’d come from. Then he went right and then left... Or was he supposed to go left, then right? 

Lloyd looked around. Nothing looked familiar. None of the buildings. None of the signs. Maybe he got his turns mixed up. Wait, did he go down the right corner? He’d went down the right corner, hadn’t he? Was he even supposed to cross the street?

Cold seeped into Lloyd’s veins, as his heartbeat sped up. 

He was lost.

His heart sped up again.

He was lost. 

Panic gripped Lloyd’s chest. He was scared. He was all alone, and it was dark, and he didn’t know where he was. Where was he, where was he, where was he—

A large hand grabbed his shoulder. 

Lloyd screamed.

“Hey, hey, hey, cool it!” said a familiar voice. 

Lloyd stopped screaming and slowly looked behind him. 

It was Cole. 

“It’s okay. It’s just me,” Cole said, crouching down so that he was eye level with Lloyd, and putting both hands on his shoulders, “What are you doing here?”

It was Cole. It was just Cole. The relief that washed over his fear was so overwhelming, tears sprang to Lloyd’s eyes and fell down his face quicker than he could catch them. 

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Cole asked gently, his hands on Lloyd’s shoulders warm, and sturdy, and safe. 

Lloyd hiccuped, wiping his cheeks on his sleeves. “I-I had a bad dream,” he answered, hating how watery his voice came out, but unable to help it. 

“So you came here?” Cole asked. 

Lloyd nodded, sniffling. 

“Why didn’t you wake one of us up?” 

Lloyd frowned up at Cole. “Why would I?”

Cole was quiet for a moment. Then he frowned too. “What do you usually do when you have a bad dream?”

“Go for a walk,” Lloyd replied. 

“At night? All by yourself?” Cole said incredulously, “Who let you do that?”

“Nobody. Nobody cared what I did,” Lloyd said, not understanding why Cole was finding this such a problem. 

Then Cole’s hold on his shoulders tightened and he looked him in the eye. “Lloyd, it’s not safe for you on your own at night. Especially not in the city. Maybe nobody cared about what you did before, but I do.”

Lloyd blinked, chest constricting. “You do?” His voice sounded small. 

“Of course,” Cole said, like it was obvious. “Now I want you to promise you’ll come to me next time you have a bad dream, instead of going for a walk. Okay?”

The warmth in Cole’s response almost made Lloyd cry again. He nodded rapidly. “Okay,” he agreed. 

Cole smiled. “Good.” Then he stood and turned, kneeling down again. “Hop on.”

Lloyd climbed on Cole’s back. 

Cole stood up. “Let’s go home.”

Lloyd nodded and Cole started walking.

Maybe the ‘home’ Cole had referred to could be something more than temporary. Maybe it’d be okay to get a little attached.   
______________________________________

Lloyd was the Green Ninja. That explained a lot of things. Like why Lloyd had been kicked out of Darkley’s. And why he took so naturally to being good—although he pulled a prank here and there, but pranks weren’t bad. And why green was his favourite colour. 

Who would’ve thought that such a huge role would belong to the kid that no one ever wanted around?

It sounded cool. Being a hero. Being a ninja. Having all these amazing powers. 

But it wasn’t easy. It was a lot of responsibility. And the training certainly was no cake walk. Getting the hang of how the elements worked was even harder. And then there was the fact that he’d eventually have to fight his dad. And win. 

A lot of things had changed in Lloyd’s life. Many of them for the better. Reuniting with his uncle. Gaining a home. Making friends with the ninja and Nya. 

He had been happy. But then he found out he was the Green Ninja. And that had made everything change again. 

Everyone was counting on him. And Lloyd didn’t want to think about what would happen if he let them down. He used to let down the teachers at Darkley’s Boarding School all the time for not being ‘bad enough’. They’d scolded him, lectured him, punished him, hit him.

And then they’d thrown him out on the streets. 

If he didn’t do a good job at being the Green Ninja, what would happen? What would the others do? What if he couldn’t face his dad? What if he lost? What would the others do? Would they hate him? Would they leave him?

Lloyd really, really didn’t want to think about this, but he couldn’t stop. His thoughts were racing, his heart hurt, and he was trembling, even though he wasn’t cold. 

What would the others do?

“Lloyd?”

Lloyd froze. That was Kai’s voice. 

“Lloyd, are you in there?”

Kai was in front of the closet now. 

‘Please don’t open it. Please don’t open it.’

Kai opened the closet and looked down, finding Lloyd curled in on himself. “What’s wrong? Why are you hiding?”

“Because... because I wanted to be alone.” That wasn’t untrue, it just wasn’t the whole truth. 

Kai arched an eyebrow. “So you hid in the closet?”

“Well, where else am I supposed to go?!” Lloyd snapped. 

Kai looked at him. 

Lloyd hung his head. “Sorry...”

Kai sighed. Then he squeezed through the entrance and sat down beside Lloyd. 

“Why did you want to be alone?” 

Lloyd buried his forehead in his knees. “I can’t tell you.”

“Lloyd, you can tell me anything.”

Lloyd shook his head. “No,” he said shakily. His eyes felt wet. He rubbed at them quickly. He was the Green Ninja. He couldn’t afford to be a crybaby. 

“Why can’t you tell me?” Kai asked, putting a hand on his back. 

“Because...”

“Because why?”

Lloyd shook his head. 

“You can say it. If you think I’ll get mad, you don’t need to worry. I promise I won’t be mad.”

Lloyd tried to curl even more into himself. “I can’t tell you because... you won’t like me anymore.”

Kai didn’t say anything at first. Then, he tapped Lloyd’s shoulder. 

“Look at me, Lloyd.”

Hesitantly, Lloyd lifted his head. Kai’s eyes were soft, yet also firm.

“There is nothing you could say or do that would make me—or Zane, or Jay, or Cole—dislike you. Nothing at all,” Kai said, “Okay? You need to know that.”

“Really?” Lloyd asked, searching Kai’s expression for any sign of dishonesty and double-checking just to be sure. 

“Really,” Kai replied, “You’re our little brother. 

Lloyd gasped, nearly choking on the burst of emotion inside his chest. “I am?” 

“You are,” Kai said, “And we love you.”

Lloyd squeaked, tears flooding eyes. He hadn’t heard the word ‘love’ in a long time. “E-even i-if,” he stuttered, “Even if I’m not good at being the Green Ninja?”

Kai’s eyes widened in realization. “So that’s what this is about?”

Lloyd nodded, wiping his eyes. 

“Lloyd,” Kai began, putting his hand on Lloyd’s shoulder and squeezing gently, “Green Ninja or not, we’d still care about you.”

“B-but what if I’m not good enough—“

“Whoa there, do you think you have to do this alone? You’ll have to make us let you! You will never be without our support. Do you hear me?”

“But what about when you leave me?”

Kai blinked. “Leave you? Where would you get a silly idea like that?”

Lloyd shrugged. “Everyone leaves sooner or later.”

“Not us,” Kai said firmly, “Not us, you hear me? We won’t leave you. Family doesn’t leave family.”

He meant that. Kai didn’t lie. He saw no reason to. He was genuine to the point of being almost brutally honest. So that meant he was telling Lloyd the truth. 

That meant he really did care. 

He cared. 

Tears filled Lloyd’s eyes for the third time. “I love you, Kai,” he hiccuped and smushed his face against Kai’s chest, hanging onto him as tight as he could. 

Kai hugged him back even tighter. “Love you too, little brother.”

All along, getting attached had been okay. All along, this had been his home. All along, the ninja had been his brothers. It’d just taken him a little while to figure it out.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Older Brother](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22323406) by [RikiBotic](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RikiBotic/pseuds/RikiBotic)




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